This was in my email today...one of my favorite newsletters and two of my fav authors...you WILL be uplifted, so read on!!

"And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

~ Refrain from the hymn "On Eagle's Wings"
written by Father Michael Joncas ~

The lyrics above are the refrain from my favorite hymn, "On Eagle's Wings." I found myself humming the tune last week after an interesting story about eagles landed in my e-mail box. A lot of interesting stories arrive in my e- mail box, many of them so uplifting and inspirational that I am often disappointed to learn that one or the other is not true. Not wanting to pass this one along without checking it out first, I did a little research online and received feedback from several noted experts on bald eagles, including Peter E. Nye from the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the web site "American Bald Eagle Information."

First, the story as it arrived in my e-mail box: "Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm."

Now the facts from the experts: "Eagles definitely do use the winds (and some quite strong), as well as updrafts coming off hills and mountains to gain altitude and set them up for a long, soaring flight to another location, especially when they migrate great distances north or south. This behavior saves considerable energy, and the eagles hardly have to flap their wings. They definitely use the winds to their advantage, including very strong winds such as those that might be found in a storm."

Scientists are scientists because they consider only observable, measurable data. They are trained not to allow their emotions to influence their interpretation of the facts. I like scientists. They keep us all straight, especially when we get overexcited about something
we think we have "learned."

But I'm a very right-brained kind of girl, so I am especially pleased when facts and stories come together to form something lovely and meaningful, as with the facts and the story about eagles.

So the eagle really does provide us with a powerful "take away." We must not hide our heads in the sand like the ostrich. We must not hunker down in our nests like the baby sparrow trusting that others will provide for and protect us.

We must be eagles.

We must be realistic enough to know that storms will enter our lives. We must not deny that they will come, we must not ignore them when they approach, and we must not flee when they arrive.

We must find ways to use them. Like the eagle, we must set ourselves on a higher place in anticipation of life's storms; in other words, before the storm arrives. We do this by finding our faith and making it strong. We can't wait until the storm breaks over us to start trying to figure out what we believe in. If we do that, the storm sends us cartwheeling through the air, and we can only flail madly about, trying to right ourselves while fighting panic and fear. This only makes the storm seem more overwhelming because we are fighting ourselves at the same time.

Perched on a higher place, then, before the storm arrives, we can enjoy the clean, clear breezes, sunshine and blue skies that make up most days. And we can see the approaching storm before it arrives. We can draw on the faith with which we have already empowered ourselves and use it to brace for the onslaught. As the winds pick up, we can lift our faith-filled wings and allow them to carry us higher. As the winds grow ever stronger, we rise ever higher. And as the storm breaks, we are carried above it, soaring like the eagle.

Safe. Powerful. Effortless.

Dear God, make me ever mindful of the many lessons to be learned from the natural world that surrounds me. Help me find my faith and shore it up in anticipation of coming storms. And when the storm breaks around me, Lord, lift me above it so that I can rest on the wind, soaring as the eagle does on the currents that rage below, carried - always safe - in the palm of Your hand.
Amen "